The Light in the Kitchen
A couple weeks ago, Paola Hernandez told me that she just changed jobs and got a significant raise when she did. I was excited for her when she told me the news, but as she told me more about the change I became very proud of her. When she was interviewing for the job, she told her potential employer that she would work hard and do whatever he needed her to do except that she wouldn’t work on Sundays. “That day belongs to the Lord,” she said. “I attend Lighthouse Baptist Church on Sundays and it is important to me to have that day off.” He agreed to always give her Sundays off and told her that he respected her for her convictions. As you know, people in the restaurant industry don’t always get to dictate their own schedule, but Paola had the foresight to negotiate this important detail up front.
This last week, she got a call from a former employer asking her to come back to work for her because she said, “You always brought light into my kitchen.” Even though she was thankful for the compliment, Paola didn’t take the job offer. Later in that same week, her new boss sat down to talk to her about her first week on the job. He is grateful for her work ethic and has big plans for Paola, asking her to help him redo the menu at the restaurant introducing some Italian dishes, Paola’s speciality. Then he said to her, “I like having you here, you bring light to my kitchen.”
Paola is just one of many Christians who take their calling to be light in a dark world seriously. Little by little, as we shine our light into the darkness, we will change the world.
“… let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 (HCSB)
Jim L. Wilson, Fresh Start Devotionals (Fresno, CA: Willow City Press, 2009).
Comments